Frances Hester to Fanny Bracher, 5 December 1869

Letter

Title:	Frances Hester to Fanny Bracher, 5 December 1869
Identifier:	archives.org.au/Frances_Hester_to_Fanny_Bracher,_5_December_1869
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Date:	1869 December 5 Sun
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License:	This work is free of known copyright restrictions.
Related people:	Frances Hester (create) · Fanny Bracher (create)
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Keywords:	Transcriptions by Ian Berryman · H.M. Wilson Archives
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File: Frances_Hester_1869_12_05.doc File:Frances_Hester_1869_12_05.pdf

Transcribed 23 April 2013 by IB, typed 24 April 2013, and checked against a photocopy of the letter

Note: the first page has a black border

Transcription

Blackwood Park

Blackwood Dec 5^th/69

My dearest Fanny

I was very much pleased with your letter enclosed with dear Mama’s it is eleven months since I heard from you, till yesterday we sent one of our men for the mail and he did not get back till ten o’clock PM Dear Papa has been very ill he was obliged to go to town, he did not feel at all well when he left home and he rode the whole way in the day sixty miles, stayed there two days and home again the next day, and carried a hive of bees which was very inconvenient on horse back, but he was afraid if they were left till our cart next down they would have died two or three hundred were killed as it was, they are at work very nicely. I will now tell you a little about myself I get up every morning at six or a little after skim the milk we have a small dairy, see about the breakfast and dust the [---] sweep the parlour, then play a little a few songs and hymns then [?needle] work and read in the afternoon, on Sunday I have school with our children I should like to have a large class after they have finished in school I read a little to them the last I read was Dr Andrew [?Reeds] life. I have learnt to play the hymn that dear Amelia sent me a long time ago, Joyfully, Joyfully onward we move bound for the land of bright spirits above I think it very beautiful all the little ones sing it. Mr Andrew Buchanan the Independent Minister gave us a little book of hymns set to music. Mr B as¹ only been in the colony a little more than four years, his father is in Melbourne, he expects him in Bunbury soon he is going to live with his son Mrs Buchanan is such a dear creature I saw a great deal of her when I was visiting the Lefroys last last² summer which church to you attend Tell me when you write if Bessie Turner is married her cousin Fanny Bussell is engaged to Jhon [sic] Brockman a young gentelman living at the Vasse it is not settled when they are to be married Mr R Wallcott a great friend of our is John Brockmans Uncle, he often comes down here he as just gone up to Perth he is a friend of Uncle Shake’s he said he would try and get Uncle to come down with him Mr John Taylor from the Sound, a cousin of the Bussells was here for a or two,³ he asked me to have [?Philipeas] with him, and who ever lost was to give the other a pair of gloves, so in the morning I just caught sight of going down the garden (with Mr Hassell another young [?gent] that lives sixteen miles from us) so I called Phillip to him he said that is too bad when he got home he sent by the post five pairs of kid gloves to me, and Amy and Gussy two pairs each, was he not very liberal, he is the Scab Inspector the district down there. Mr Wallcott as sent to Dr Muller for some flower seed for us our flowers grow very well our [?Moss] Rose bushes are eight feet high and have been higher. John Forrest who Dr Muller thinks so much of as an explorer is a millers son they are very nice people, and he as been educated as a young gentleman they are a family of eight boys we have known them ever since I can remember Johnny is not at all nice looking, but a fine young man about 22 he was with Mr Carey learning surveying for nearly three years he is [?received] every where now, he is very clever and good to his parents and brothers he is the third son Mr Forrests large mill was quite destroyed by fire last year and he saved a great deal of his salary and sent to his parents, then paid for the schooling of one of his brothers for a year. My cousin Nathan Knight has a situation as clerk to the Magistrates at Guildford it is eighty three pounds per annum, he likes being there, very much better that living with the Hamersely he was fore man for three years they treated him as one of themselves, now he has a great deal of his time to himself they are all good boys it seems very sad dear Aunt was left with five boys to bring up an income of fifty pounds a year till this last year, then they have a little farm that was Grandpapas but it is not worth much they have three hundred sheep — Nathan will be twenty one the 21 of this month they are very gentelmanly boys Aunt Sophy has great praise for bringing them up so well. My dear dear Fanny I must now wish you a happy Xmas tell me when you write where, and how you spent it and I will do the same Nathan thinks of coming down to spend his with us How much I wish you could What do you think of all the childrens likenesses some people do not like mine at all they think Amys much the best we wore white embroidered muslin skirts but all the same bodice [---] silk velvet that we had for the last ball I very seldom wear curls, my hair is not at all curly do send me a piece of yours next time you write My hair is brown neither dark or light [?Dear] little Gerald says [---] [?Her] my love when he heard me speaking of you dear girl With love from all If we never meet on earth we may in Heaven Believe me dearest

Ever your loving

Frances

1 Frances sometimes writes ‘as’ for ‘has’.

2 The text on page 4 ends ‘when I was visiting the Lefroys last’, and the text across page 1 begins ‘last summer’.

3 Frances may have intended to write ‘a day or two’, or ‘a week or two’.